Media Cyphers Kalamazoo

Our first hour is all about Kalamazoo. A local employee at the YMCA was recently fired for wearing an "ICE Out" pin to work causing an intense community response.

 

A leadership shakeup at the People's Food Co-Op has the community on alert- incompetence, threats, terminations, violations of the by-laws and board resignations are leading community owners to demand transparency and democracy from leadership that is maneuvering through a community institution in an undemocratic way.

 

A standing room only event at Crawlspace Eviction had Kalamazoo residents asking elected officials how they were going to protect the community from ICE.

 

We spend some time talking about music- from J Cole to the culture wars as played out through the Super Bowl.

 

In the wake of the recent releases from The Epstein Files we look back 10 years to one of the "Bills" and how their misconduct was eventually swallowed up by the news cycle while their Foundation For Excellence plans went full steam ahead. What lessons can we learn from our own homegrown example of billionaire impunity?

 

We talk briefly about the building of American concentration camps historically and concurrently and some high profile deportations of MAGA supporters and veterans.

 

00:30- 9:40 It's (Not) Fun to Stay at the YMCA: Kzoo YMCA Fires Employee Over "ICE Out" Pin

 

10:30- 33:10 People's Food Co-Opted- What's Going On at the PFC?

 

33:20- 42:30 Thoughts On Kzoo Community Meeting on ICE

 

43:00- 46:15 J Cole's New Album

 

46:15- 1:11:40 Super Bowl Culture Wars

 

1:11:50- 1:24:00 The Parfet Files: Billionaire Impunity Begins at Home

 

1:24:00- 1:28:45  Concentration Camps- American as Apple Pie

 

1:28:55- 1:33:15 Deportations of MAGA Influencers and Army Vet

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Woman claims YMCA fired her over anti-ICE pin, YMCA says there’s more to story
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/02/woman-claims-ymca-fired-her-over-anti-ice-pin-ymca-say-theres-more-to-story.html

 

Statement on YMCA Firing
https://swmidsa.com/2026/02/06/statement-on-ymca-firing/

 

PFC Update and Actions You Can Take
https://www.change.org/p/pfc-owners-want-accountable-and-transparent-leadership-practices/u/34285772

 

Kalamazoo County leaders address ICE concerns: ‘I want to dispel fear from fact’
https://nowkalamazoo.org/2026/02/kalamazoo-county-leaders-address-ice-concerns-i-want-to-dispel-fear-from-fact/

 

Businessman William Parfet will contest sexual harassment lawsuit
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2016/08/businessman_william_parfet_wil.html

 

The Parfet Files (Shuang Zhang v. William Parfet)
WARNING: EXPLICIT AND DISTURBING CONTENT
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.301606.1.0.pdf

 

The Wretched of the Earth
Frantz Fanon
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO, EBOOK)
FREE PDF
https://archive.org/download/the-wretched-of-the-earth/The%20Wretched%20Of%20The%20Earth.pdf

 

Black Power: The Politics of Liberation
Kwame Ture & Charles V. Hamilton
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO, EBOOK)
FREE PDF
https://ia902303.us.archive.org/22/items/soi-book-collection-1/black-power-kwame-ture-and-charles-hamilton.pdf

 

Where Do We Go From Here?
Martin Luther King Jr
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO, EBOOK)
FREE PDF
https://archive.org/details/82818file

 

Feminism is For Everybody
bell hooks
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO)
FREE PDF
https://excoradfeminisms.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bell_hooks-feminism_is_for_everybody.pdf

 

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
bell hooks
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO, EBOOK)
FREE PDF
https://archive.org/download/the-will-to-change-men-masculinity-and-love-by-bell-hooks-z-lib.org.epub/The%20Will%20to%20Change%20Men%2C%20Masculinity%2C%20and%20Love%20by%20bell%20hooks%20%28z-lib.org%29.epub.pdf

 

Freedom is a Constant Struggle
Angela Davis
AVAILABLE AT KALAMAZOO PUBLIC LIBRARY (PRINT, AUDIO, EBOOK)

We begin our show with updates on AI data centers in Michigan. A member of the DSA is running for mayor in Ann Arbor. We look at student resistance against ICE and a recent kidnapping at an Amazon warehouse near Detroit. We also provide on update on Gaza where the fire has not ceased.

 

We spend most of the rest of our show talking about elite PDF files and the new drop of Epstein files- and what the media is and is not covering about it. To paraphrase Antonio Gramsci, "it's monster time."

 

00:50- 26:25 Michiganders vs. AI Update

 

26:45- 34:00 Wolverine Socialism- DSA Member to Run for Mayor in Ann Arbor

 

34:25- 41:50 Students Organizing Against ICE

 

42:00- 52:00 Palestinians Cease, Israel Fires: A Gaza Update

 

52:50- 59:20 Detroit Worker Nabbed By ICE at Amazon Warehouse Near Detroit

 

1:00:10- 1:28:00 Elite PDF Files, Media Response, and the Depravity of the Ruling Class

 

1:28:00- 1:33:15 Thoughts on the Grammys

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Data center moratoriums pile up in Michigan. No one knows if they’ll work 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/at-least-19-michigan-towns-pause-data-centers-no-one-knows-if-itll-work/

 

Rabhi challenges Ann Arbor’s Democratic establishment with socialist mayoral bid
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/02/02/rabhi-challenges-ann-arbors-democratic-establishment-with-socialist-mayoral-bid/

 

University Students and Workers Must Unite and Stand Up Against ICE
https://www.leftvoice.org/university-students-and-workers-must-unite-and-stand-up-against-ice/

 

The Gaza Ceasefire Is a Minefield Shallowly Masquerading as a Truce
https://truthout.org/articles/the-gaza-ceasefire-is-a-minefield-shallowly-masquerading-as-a-truce/

 

ICE arrests man in raid of Amazon facility in Hazel Park, Michigan
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/02/03/zkqv-f03.html

 

“Billionaire Boys Club”: What the Latest Epstein Files Reveal About Elite Impunity
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/2/jeffrey_epstein

 

We spend most of today's show breaking the ICE. Euan from SWMI DSA joins us to discuss yesterday's historic anti-ICE rally outside Kalamazoo City Hall. We also talk about the general strike in Minneapolis and how that "proof of concept" can show us how to fight fascism.

 

In Michigan we are feeling the waves from Minnesota- our district's congressman Bill Huizenga offers support to investigating ICE, and a report from Michigan Advance exposes how Michigan Republicans are leveraging court funding on ICE's behalf.

 

Lawrence joins us and we continue to break (down) the ICE. We reflect on a protest at a church with a clergy member working for ICE, how the 2nd Amendment discourse around Alex Pretti's murder is causing a 404 error in the minds of many conservatives, and more.

 

We close discussing the erasure of left wing content on Tik Tok and the death of beloved Marxist scholar and lecturer Michael Parenti.

 

00:30- 11:50 Euan from SMWI DSA on the Anti-ICE Rally at City Hall

 

13:05- 19:15 Bill Huizenga Pushed (Slightly) on ICE 

 

19:20- 27:30 Michigan Republicans Threaten Court Funding Over ICE

 

28:25- 1:08:10 Andy and Lawrence Break the ICE

 

1:10:10- 1:11:50 Tik Tok Has Fallen- Left Wing Content Being Censored

 

1:12:10- 1:15:57 Rest in Power Michael Parenti

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Huizenga calls for congressional hearings on ICE action in Minnesota
https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/huizenga-calls-for-congressional-hearings-on-ice-action-in-minnesota/

 

When Michigan Republicans threaten courts, they’re preparing our state for federal abuse
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/01/26/when-michigan-republicans-threaten-courts-theyre-preparing-our-state-for-federal-abuse/

 

Michael Parenti- "US interventionism, the 3rd world, and the USSR" (a.k.a. The Yellow Tape) 
https://youtu.be/xP8CzlFhc14?si=ABh9ofECNEuL66_P

 

We talk about the threat of ICE in Northern Michigan and Minneapolis, the dynamics and dumbassery of Trump's coveting of Greenland, and shout out a worker in Detroit for calling the man out to his face.

 

We give our thoughts on the protests in Iran and break down a conversation between Gavin Newsome and Ben Shapiro that reveals the political cowardice of centrist Democrats.

 

02:15- 11:05 Michigan Tribes Warn Natives About Racial Profiling from ICE

 

17:00- 35:50 Grass is Greener- Greenland and Trump's Imperial Ambitions

 

35:50- 52:00 Updates on ICE in Minneapolis

 

52:00- 57:00 Pure Michigan: The UAW and Calling Out Pedophile Protectors

 

57:35- 1:11:10 Iran- U.S. Interference and the Struggle for Liberation

 

1:11:10- 1:23:50 Gavin Newsome and the Cowardice of Centrism

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Michigan tribes warn members about ICE stops: ‘Irony maybe is the word’ 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-tribes-warn-members-about-ice-stops-irony-maybe-is-the-word/

 

‘We’re just not going to do FOIA’: Michigan transparency effort stalls
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/01/18/were-just-not-going-to-do-foia-michigan-transparency-effort-stalls

 

Iran: Against Repression and Imperialist Threats — for an Independent Path of the Working Class!
https://www.leftvoice.org/iran-against-repression-and-imperialist-threats-for-an-independent-path-of-the-working-class/

 

Greenland Doesn’t Belong to Denmark Either
https://www.leftvoice.org/greenland-doesnt-belong-to-denmark-either/

 

Dr. Cornell West at WMU, MLK Day 2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17ujYPqdFP/

 

We look at some funding from the state of Michigan that will bolster affordable housing options for workers at Bronson hospital. We also give some updates on the AI data center being proposed in Saline.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk again about the year that was, and how last year's media consolidation, unmasked federal fascism, the genocide in Gaza, and the Epstein scandal played out in the context of the murder of Renee Good at the hands of ICE.

 

02:40- 14:10 Housing Program For Bronson Workers Gets State Funding

14:45- 22:40 Michiganders vs. AI Update

23:00- 1:53:00 Damage Report Pt. II- 2025 and the Murder of Renee Good

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Michigan helps employers build housing in Detroit, Kalamazoo as fund runs dry 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-helps-employers-build-housing-in-detroit-kalamazoo-as-fund-runs-dry/

 

Nessel and advocates seek rehearing on conditional approval of DTE data center contracts
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/01/09/nessel-and-advocates-seek-rehearing-on-conditional-approval-of-dte-data-center-contracts

 

Renee Good’s Killing Has Unleashed MAGA’s Misogyny
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/renee-good-jd-vance-sexism-maga/

 

ICE Is on a Violent, Illegal, Immoral Rampage
https://jacobin.com/2026/01/ice-violence-illegal-immigration-protests

 

The holidays are still special, and we talk about the importance of going into the new year with hope.

 

We look at some local stories about how the cuts in HUD funding will impact housing in Kalamazoo and the shortage of workers in Michigan nursing homes.

 

Sarah from Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War joins us to discuss the kidnapping of President Maduro from Venezuela. We break down the imperial ambitions of the Trump administration and the importance of popular resistance.

 

We then look back and assess the damage of 2025.

 

0:00- 8:20 I Believe That We Will Win

 

8:35- 19:25 How HUD Funding Gap is Impacting Kzoo

 

19:55- 29:50 Worker Shortage in Michigan Nursing Homes

 

30:31- 58:30 Hands Off Venezuela w/ Sarah from KNOW

 

59:25- 1:30:46 Damage Report: Looking Back at 2025

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Housed – but for how long?
https://nowkalamazoo.org/2025/12/housed-but-for-how-long/?

 

Michigan nursing homes have few staff, little training. Misery can follow 
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-health-watch/michigan-nursing-homes-have-few-staff-little-training-misery-can-follow/

 

“Venezuela Is Not Going to Be a U.S. Colony”: Report from Caracas on U.S. Attack & Maduro Abduction
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/5/us_venezuela_trump_maduro

 

Kalamazoo braces for large turnout as it considers rezoning land near Asylum Lake
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/01/kalamazoo-braces-for-large-turnout-as-it-considers-rezoning-land-near-asylum-lake.html

 

We look at a story from ProPublica about how tariffs are impacting a small business here in SW Michigan, how local conservative politicians have done a 180 on their views on free market economics under Trump 2.0, and how it has effected our state's trade relationship with Canada.

 

Lawrence joins us to break down the eerily familiar beating of the wars drums towards a conflict with Venezuela. We talk about the implications of a new gambling gimmick around betting on current events, and look at the implications of the pending Warner Bros. merger.

 

We close out bookending our conversation on broken clocks talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene.

 

3:35- 23:30 Broken Clocks- Tariffs and Their Impact in SW Michigan

 

26:00- 52:50 "It's Like Poetry, It Rhymes" The War Drums Beating for Venezuela

 

53:30- 1:03:00 Hedging Our Bets- The Dangers of Gambling on the News

 

1:03:30- 1:20:15 When Media Consolidates Warn a Brother- The Warner Bros. Merger

 

1:20:30- 1:32:00 The Notorious MTG or She is Still NOT Invited to the Cook Out

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Tariffs take hold in west Michigan, home of former critic turned champion 
https://bridgemi.com/business-watch/tariffs-take-hold-in-west-michigan-home-of-former-critic-turned-champion

 

A Short History of the Long War on Drugs in Latin America
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/war-on-drugs-latin-america/#

 

Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela
https://www.versobooks.com/products/147-building-the-commune

 

Stop the Merger Madness
https://pressingissues.org/stop-the-merger-madness/

 

Jane Fonda Op-Ed: The WBD Deal Puts Hollywood, and Democracy, at Risk
https://theankler.com/p/jane-fonda-op-ed-the-wbd-deal-puts

 

We begin our show with an interview with Pinehurst Tenants Union organizer April Ailes. We discuss the challenges around organizing a tenants union, setbacks, victories, and how public pressure gets the goods.

 

Speaking of public pressure small communities all over Michigan are standing against the construction of AI Data Centers in their backyard- protecting their environment and their wallets.

 

Lawrence joins us and we talk about a recent march of bigots in the mostly Arab- American community of Dearborn, the particularly egregious "both sides" coverage by MSM, and the emotional projection implied in white Christian nationalists protesting "Sharia Law."

 

Everyone has a take about Mamdani meeting Trump and we didn't want to be left out. Congress also wants the left out, signing on to a resolution denouncing socialism.

 

0:00- 21:25 Interview w/ Pine Tenants Union Organizer April Ailes

 

22:45- 37:00 Rage Against the Machine- Michiganders Vs. AI Data Centers

 

37:15- 50:50 Dipsh-ts in Dearborn- Racists March in Michigan Town

 

51:10- 57:30 MAGA and Off-Shore Astroturfing

 

57:30- 1:10:30 Mamdani Meets Trump and DSA Politics

 

1:10:30- 1:26:00 Red Scared- Congress Votes to Denounce Socialism

 

1:26:00- 1:29:59 Hip-Hop and the Grammys

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Pinehurst Tenants Union
dtenant7@gmail.com

 

Local governments should serve residents, not corporations. Data centers do the opposite.
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/20/local-governments-should-serve-residents-not-corporations-data-centers-do-the-opposite/

 

Chicago’s Left Experiment
https://thedigradio.com/podcast/chicagos-left-experiment/

 

Denouncing Socialism Can’t Stop a Generation That’s Embracing It
https://www.leftvoice.org/denouncing-socialism-cant-stop-a-generation-thats-embracing-it

 

We start by talking a bit about the Kalamazoo election results, the low turn out, and how the Foundation For Excellence hollows out democracy in our humble town.

 

An art installation at the University of Michigan has been moved around out of view in a dubious fashion, and Michigan's own Rashida Tlaib is leading the charge to recognize the genocide in Gaza and legislate accordingly.

 

We give a brief update on Asylum Lake and look at a story about the Michigan Department of Education revising sex ed with gender identity and sexual orientation.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk about the election results earlier this month on a national level, Dems caving in over the shut down, and we give a full-throated response to recent revelations about Trump's connection to Epstein and Epstein's connection to Israeli intelligence.

 

01:55- 14:25 Kalamazoo Election Results and Kalamazoo's Oligarchy

 

15:10- 23:00 U of M Censors Pro Palestine Quilt

 

23:30- 27:30 Rashida Tlaib Introduces Resolution to Recognize Gaza Genocide

 

28:50- 32:45 Update on Asylum Lake

 

32:50- 40:10 MI Dept of Ed Updates Sex Ed Curriculum to be Inclusive of Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation

 

41:20- 47:20  You Don't Mess With the Zohran

 

47:20- 1:01:00 Dems Cave on Shutdown After Election Night

 

1:01:00- 1:37:15 The Truth is a Mouthful: The Epstein Files

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Kalamazoo County Election Results
https://app.enhancedvoting.com/results/public/kalamazoo-county-mi/elections/Nov-4th-2025

 

The University of Michigan is censoring a quilt?
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/12/the-university-of-michigan-is-censoring-a-quilt/

 

Tlaib Introduces Resolution to Recognize Gaza Genocide, Call for Arms Embargo
https://truthout.org/articles/tlaib-introduces-resolution-to-recognize-gaza-genocide-call-for-arms-embargo

 

Michigan adopts updated sex education standards after contentious meeting
https://bridgemi.com/talent-education/michigan-adopts-updated-sex-education-standards-after-contentious-meeting/

 

Kalamazoo Planning Commission unanimously rejects rezoning land near Asylum Lake
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kalamazoo-planning-commission-unanimously-rejects-rezoning-land-near-asylum-lake

 

Democrats Caved in the Shutdown Because of the Filibuster
https://jacobin.com/2025/11/democrats-shutdown-filibuster-party-radicals

 

Israeli Spy Stayed for Weeks at a Time With Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israeli-spy-yoni-koren-stayed-jeffrey-epstein-apartment-ehud-barak

 

 

We begin our show talking about push back from residents in Pavilion Township against a new data center.

 

Lawrence joins us to talk a bit about election day and we spend time talking about the SNAP freeze, potential Michigan solutions and the politicians in its way, and an alarming development from Fox News who recently boosted AI generated videos- presenting them as real- that echoed racist welfare dog-whistles from the 80s.

 

Dick Cheney has died and as a couple of elder millennials who came of age in the Bush years we have a few things to say about it.

 

We spend the next part of our show in discussion with Josh Keiser of the Asylum Lake Preservation Association about the most recent efforts of an developer to rezone some adjacent land commercial and develop it. We talk about the existential threat this poses to the preserve and about why Kalamazoo residents have to had to keep pushing on this issue for the better part of a decade.

 

Lawrence and I discuss a Michigan Republican representative becoming hysterical over some sidewalk chalk outside their office, and close with a short discussion about Erika Kirk and JD Vance.*

 

*Due to connection issues this conversation was cut off and the audio was unable to be recovered.

 

03:55- 9:45 Pavilion Township Says No to New Data Center

 

10:00- 15:00 Election Day Chat

 

15:00- 27:25  EBT/ SNAP Updates

 

27:25- 37:00 CBS and Teen Vogue Have Journalism Departments Gutted By Conservative Owners

 

37:00- 48:30 Dick in a Box: The Legacy of Former VP Dick Cheney

 

49:00- 1:18:40 Protecting Asylum Lake Preserve w/ Josh Keiser

 

1:20:30- 1:25:20 Michigan Rep Calls Sidewalk Chalk and Cute Pumpkins "Vandalism"

 

1:25:20- 1:26:51 Erika Kirk and JD Vance

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

Community concerns halt proposed data center project in Kalamazoo County
https://wwmt.com/news/local/data-center-indistrial-hub-pavilion-township-community-concerns-halt-project-kalamazoo-county-franklin-partners-llc

 

Michigan Senate approves $71M for food aid ahead of SNAP benefits pause 
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/10/michigan-senate-approves-71m-for-food-aid-ahead-of-snap-benefits-pause.html

 

Michigan House speaker rejects Senate’s $71M food aid bill ahead of SNAP pause
https://www.mlive.com/politics/2025/10/michigan-house-speaker-rejects-senates-71m-food-aid-bill-ahead-of-snap-pause.html

 

CBS News Guts Climate Team as New Conservative Management Takes Charge
https://truthout.org/articles/cbs-news-guts-climate-team-as-new-conservative-management-takes-charge

 

Fox News criticized for publishing AI-generated videos of SNAP recipients
https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/fox-news-criticized-for-publishing-ai-generated-videos-of-snap-recipients/ar-AA1PK70L

 

Asylum Lake Preservation Association
https://www.asylumlakepreservationassociation.org/

 

No Tom, sidewalk chalk is not ‘vandalism’ or even a crime. But gutting Medicaid and SNAP funding is
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/11/03/no-tom-sidewalk-chalk-is-not-vandalism-or-even-a-crime-but-gutting-medicaid-and-snap-funding-is